Afghans stand near a damaged shop after an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. A suicide car bomber targeted the police headquarters in a minority Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul on Wednesday, setting off a huge explosion that wounded dozens of people, Afghan officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Afghan ambassador: Taliban attacks undermine negotiations

August 07, 2019 - 2:12 pm

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S. says unrelenting Taliban attacks like the deadly car bomb that rocked Kabul on Wednesday are undermining the credibility of negotiations to end the nearly 18-year-old war.

The attack, which killed at least 14 people, occurred after the American diplomat conducting U.S. talks with the Taliban reported that "excellent progress" was being made. The Taliban say differences have been resolved over the withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops and about Taliban assurances not to harbor extremist groups, such as al-Qaida.

Successful U.S.-Taliban talks would set the stage for all-Afghan negotiations.

The Taliban has said it won't meet with the Afghan government. But Ambassador Roya Rahmani says there's no way to implement a negotiated peace if the government is sidelined.